The Wonders of Wonderland
Caitlin
12/6/11
Kerry woke up on a snowy Christmas morning feeling excited. I can’t
believe it is finally Christmas! she thought. I hope Grandma didn’t get me
too many presents. She needs to save her money. If she doesn’t, the
government will take the house from us! Better not think about that right
now. She walked out of her room and into the kitchen. Her grandmother
was sitting at the kitchen table with her morning coffee and Nevada Barr
book. Kerry sat down at the table and waited.
Finally, her grandma looked up and said, “Merry Christmas, Kerry!”
“You too, Grandma,” she replied.
“Grab some breakfast, and then we can open presents!”
“Great!” Kerry stood up and went over to the cupboard for some
cereal, but her grandma stopped her.
“I cooked some fresh bacon this morning just for you. I thought I
would make your favorite!”
Kerry looked at her grandma with an odd expression and eventually
replied, “Thanks!”
Kerry turned around and filled her plate with bacon and fruit. When
she sat down, she immediately started eating. Her grandma smiled and
returned to her book. If only I could tell Kerry what is going to happen to
her tonight.
*
*
*
Kerry opened the first of her five presents and gasped.
“It’s the jacket I wanted! How did you. . . . .but I told you. . . .you
didn’t have to get me this! Thanks!”
“No problem,” replied her grandma with a smile that covered her
whole face.
Kerry opened the rest of her presents that consisted of new tennis
shoes, a pretty bracelet, a compass, and a new hat. After she gave her
grandma a new watering pot and plant, they went into the kitchen for lunch.
After lunch they had to make sure the animals in the barn were warm and
were all fed. By the time they finished, it was already time for dinner. They
had chicken and vegetables for dinner that night. The whole time, her
grandma had a nervous look on her face and kept glancing at Kerry.
Kerry couldn’t stand it any longer and finally asked, “Why do you keep
on looking at me like I’m about to die?”
“Well, I guess I should tell you now,” replied her grandma.
“Tell me what?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m not your grandmother.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny.”
“I’m serious. Right before your parents died, they gave you to me.
They told me to take care of you until your twelfth Christmas. You are
supposed to meet a man at the town green. He will tell you your task.”
“My what? This doesn’t make sense.”
“Your task. I can tell you no more. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Right
now you need to hurry over to the town square. Be sure to take your new
presents. They will be quite useful. Goodbye!”
Feeling confused and mad, Kerry hugged the woman she thought was
her grandmother. She grabbed her presents and ran to the town square
crying.
*
*
*
When she arrived, the square appeared to be deserted. She became
even angrier and kicked a tree.
Out of nowhere, a voice said, “Now, how do you think the tree feels
when you do that?”
Kerry turned around and said quickly, “Oh, I thought I was alone.”
“Well, you need to learn to be more careful in the future. Now, your
task is to find the wand of Lehuu before the Underground Devils do. It is
the only magical wand left in Wonderland. Wonderland is a magical world.
You will get there by climbing this tree. When you get to the top, say
Beliviate Wonderland. Here is your travel bag. Keep this with you at all
times. Any questions?”
“Yes. What is in this bag? Why do I have to do this? How do I know
where to go?”
“In the bag there is a whistle that calls all people and creatures in
Wonderland to you, Invisibility Pills, Flying Dust, a list of spells that might
come in handy, and a map of how to find the wand. Also, Dinky here will be
with you the whole trip. You have to do this because it is what your parents
died for you to do. Just follow this map, and you will be fine. When you find
the wand, squeeze this necklace, and you will be transported to me. Always
wear this. Good luck.”
Before Kerry could say anything else, he vanished with a small pop.
She turned around and stared at the fluffy blue ball named Dinky. He
winked and started climbing the tree.
Kerry followed him asking, “What are you anyway?”
“I am one of the guide elves left in Wonderland. You should be
honored that I am accompanying you.”
Speechless, Kerry said the magic words and immediately felt as if an
invisible rope was pulling her inside the tree. Her feet landed on ground
about three seconds later.
“OK, according to this map we should go right,” said Kerry.
“Yep. You might want to study that list of spells. I have a feeling we
might be meeting some unwanted creatures along the way,” replied Dinky.
Kerry pulled out the list of spells out of her bag and started reciting
them. By the time they reached a fork in the trail, Kerry had uprooted two
trees, frozen one bird, and caught a bush on fire.
“Which way?” asked Kerry.
“Left,” grunted Dinky.
As soon as they turned left, five goblins jumped from a nearby tree.
They were armed with clubs that had spikes all around them.
“I knew it,” muttered Dinky. “Did you happen to run across a
confusing charm on that list?”
“Yeah,” replied Kerry, “it was the last one I practiced.”
“Okay. On the count of three, you confuse those two, and I will do
the other three. One, two, three!”
In unison, they both yelled Confusimenta! At once, the goblins
started running around with a glazed look in their eyes.
“Nice call, Dinky,” praised Kerry.
“Thanks, but I have a feeling there are more coming. Keep your ears
and eyes open,” replied Dinky.
Sure enough, thirty minutes later, ten animals that looked like tigers
came charging through the bushes.
“Told you,” said Dinky. “For these animals we will need to use the
stunning charm. Remember that one?”
“Yes,” replied Kerry. “On the count of three. One, two, three!”
“Stun Intendo!” they shouted.
Kerry and Dinky walked on without a word. They were both enjoying
the peace and quiet of the evening.
“I think we have had enough walking for one day,” said Dinky. “Why
don’t we call it a day?”
“Yeah, I’m whooped,” replied Kerry.
Kerry and Dinky camped out under the protection of a tree. When
their heads hit the soft grass, they were asleep. The next morning, they ate
a small breakfast and started walking again.
Five days passed, and they had to disarm fifteen centaurs, kill an army
of beetles, catch a plant and burn it before it squeezed them to death, and
climb over a bridge that shook when they stood on it. They were exhausted,
but when they looked at the map and realized that if they hurried, they
could reach the wand the next day. Their spirits rose at once.
Kerry and Dinky walked for about five more minutes. They decided to
camp out in the forest. The next morning they were not stopped once by
unwanted creatures. They reached the cave that lead them to the wand, but
they were immediately stopped by four winged bulls.
“You are not welcome here,” grunted the first one.
“Leave now, and we won’t hurt you,” said the second.
“Fine,” replied Dinky. “We’ll go another way.
As soon as they turned the corner and were out of sight, Dinky
whispered, “Get those invisibility pills that man gave you.”
Kerry rummaged in her bag until she found the pills.
“Okay, these won’t last forever, but they will at least get us past
those bulls,” said Dinky. “Maybe we will get lucky, and these will last until we
find the wand.”
Kerry and Dinky ate the pills and almost at once felt a tingling
sensation rise up from their feet to their heads. They walked past the bulls
that were now resting and did not disturb any of them. One of the bulls
turned around and looked in their direction, but after a moment’s hesitation,
he put his head back down to continue his nap.
Thirty minutes later, they found themselves in an open chamber filled
with boiling purple water. In the center on a boulder was the Wand of
Lehuu.
“We found it! We found it!” shouted Kerry.
“We found it,” replied Dinky, “but how are we going to get it?”
“Use the flying dust.”
“Good idea!”
At once, they sprinkled the dust on their head and started floating in
the air. They reached the wand’s platform in no time, but just as they
touched the ground, an army of evil creatures appeared.
“Clever, clever , clever,” said the leader. “You made it to the wand.”
“Who are you?” said Kerry in brave voice.
“We are the Underground Devils. It is our job to make sure that you
don’t get this wand.”
“I’d like to see you try,” she yelled and without hesitation, she opened
her bag and pulled out the magical whistle. She blew as hard as she could.
All the good creatures of Wonderland appeared in the room.
Everyone fought and fought. Kerry used this diversion to get the
wand. She reached it finally, and ignoring the cries of protests from the
Devils, she grabbed the wand while holding on tight to the necklace she was
given. She managed to take Dinky with her as she plummeted into darkness.
Moments later, she landed in an office.
The man who assigned Kerry the dangerous task walked through his
office door reading the paper. Upon seeing her, he dropped his papers.
While scrambling to pick up his papers, he said, “My, my, my. I wasn’t
planning on you finishing so quickly. Congratulations! The wand please.”
Kerry handed him the wand and stepped back.
“Amazing,” he muttered. “You have just saved the world. Do you know
that?”
“No.”
“If you hadn’t retrieved this wand before the Underground Devils,
they would have taken over the world. Now we can destroy them once and
for all. Thank you very much!”
“You’re welcome.”
“Now, you have a choice. You can either return to your old home or
start a new life elsewhere.”
“I want to return to my old home.”
“Very well.”
With a crack she returned to her old home. She graduated from high
school and then college. After college, she married her high school crush.
They lived a happy life and had a baby girl. That girl would, as her mother
did, soon play a big part in the history of a magical world known as
Wonderland.